322 WILD-FOWL AND SEA-FOWL OF GREAT BRITAIN 



wings light bluish-grey ; quills all white at the end ; 

 lower parts white ; legs and feet flesh-coloured. 

 Length, from bill to end of tail, thirty inches. 



Young. — The bill yellowish-grey at the base ; 

 brownish-black towards the end ; ground-colour of 

 plumage drab, streaked on the head and neck with 

 brown. Upper parts irregularly barred ; and the 

 lower barred and mottled in a very confused manner 

 with white and pale brown. Legs and feet flesh- 

 coloured. 



In hard weather this northern giant, the Burgo- 

 master, occasionally visits us, but rarely in the adult 

 state, more frequently in immature plumage. This 

 and the White-winged Gull, or Lesser Iceland Gull 

 [Larus leucoptertis) — a bird very often mistaken for 

 its larger relative — are the North Sea Gulls of the 

 shooters. 



THE COMMON GULL. 

 {Larus canus.) 



Male. — In summer plumage the bill is greenish- 

 yellow ; eyelids vermilion. Head and neck pure 

 white ; back and wings light bluish-grey. The 

 quills in part black, largely tipped with white ; 

 lower parts pure white. In the winter the head 

 and hind-neck are marked with brownish streaks 

 and spots ; the rest of the plumage as in summer. 

 Legs and feet are deep greenish-grey. Length, 

 from bill to end of tail, eighteen inches. 



The female is similar to the male. 



